dArK5hAd0W's Timeline

[ve dub]

Nice photo. Rare sight seeing one yellow rs let alone two parked side by side.

Pity I didn't catch up with you guys inside the show. I was with the exotic car boys during the day.

Todd's wagon looks tough!!

[redline3345]

spoke to the vw service centre, and the earliest they can do it for me is april 13th

i wonder if canberra vw centre (cvwc) can do this job?
didn't think of them till now. will give them a buzz trow n find out.

I installed Bilstein PSS10's wound down 2/3 on the available threads, resulting in a 20mm rear and 35mm front drop - mine looked ridiculous on standard springs, much higher at the front than rear - now looks heaps better. This resulted in the lights (dynamic xenons) being focussed too low. I simply adjusted the beam height with the allen key adjusters on the rear of the headlights (5 minutes job) as you would a normal headlight, and they're fine. The high beam, which are a normal halogen were way too high previously, but are about right now with the drop.

The only other thing I made sure of was that the sensor arms attached to the front & rear suspension arms where orientated the correct way when installing the coil-overs - apparently they can be flexed with the elbow facing the wrong way, resulting in bizarre values being fed to the headlight adjustment module. There's a thread on one of the VW Golf websites for installing new springs/shocks/coil-overs that shows the correct orientation for the sensor arms.

[dArK5HaD0w]

I simply adjusted the beam height with the allen key adjusters on the rear of the headlights (5 minutes job) as you would a normal headlight, and they're fine. The high beam, which are a normal halogen were way too high previously, but are about right now with the drop.

The only other thing I made sure of was that the sensor arms attached to the front & rear suspension arms where orientated the correct way when installing the coil-overs - apparently they can be flexed with the elbow facing the wrong way, resulting in bizarre values being fed to the headlight adjustment module. There's a thread on one of the VW Golf websites for installing new springs/shocks/coil-overs that shows the correct orientation for the sensor arms.

+1.
i ended up adjusting it myself using the allen key.

initially i borrowed a mate's vcds cable, in an effort to put the lights in "learning" mode. but it made no difference.
so i did the adjustments as required.
before adjusting though, i checked to see the sensor arms were in the right orientation, and there was enough buffer on either side of the sensor angle/threshold. otherwise the sensors would've bottomed out the leveling motors.

been a few months now - no problems. they still do the start-up dance. they still turn with the steering. the aim is good too.

speaking of springs - i had the car taken back in last week for its complimentary wheel alignment. the rear wheels were slightly angled inwards at the top, as expected once the springs had settled. they wound it out to correct the stance.
unfortunately the rears still sit a good 10mm higher than the front

[dArK5HaD0w]

got my 30k service happening trow. sofar i've been quoted approx $430.

while its there i'm getting them to look at:-
- engine ticking noise audible at low rpm & idle.
- faint knocking noise audible on low speed turning. appears to b coming from the wheel bearing.

hopefully its all good at the end of the day trow and the hole in my pocket is not any bigger.

[bluefrog]

got my 30k service happening trow. sofar i've been quoted approx $430.

while its there i'm getting them to look at:-
- engine ticking noise audible at low rpm & idle.
- faint knocking noise audible on low speed turning. appears to b coming from the wheel bearing.

hopefully its all good at the end of the day trow and the hole in my pocket is not any bigger.

save yourself the pita of service department troubleshooting, get a Milltek or otherwise cat-back and you won't hear anything else

[dArK5HaD0w]

save yourself the pita of service department troubleshooting, get a Milltek or otherwise cat-back and you won't hear anything else

lol....that would definately eliminate the noises

final damage was $450. they rotated the wheels too.
engine ticking was dimissed as "normal operation".
knocking noise while turning was acknowledged as possible steering column or strut/suspension. need to book it in for another day for a closer look.

[bluefrog]

engine ticking was dimissed as "normal operation".

think I read somewhere in forumland that this is the injectors ??

[Mysticality]

think I read somewhere in forumland that this is the injectors ??

Direct Injection, yeah??

Compare a CRDi diesel to an old-style diesel, and you'll hear the obvious difference.
Petrol DI is only new.
Its to do with the multi-thousand PSI injector pressure.

[dArK5HaD0w]

think I read somewhere in forumland that this is the injectors ??

yup. that was the diagnosis. they also said it may also be the "evap canisters operating at high pressure".

[dArK5HaD0w]

so starts my next challenge.....addition of footwell lighting.

i got myself a set of footwell (front & rear) lighting from bold-sports. it comes pre-wired, ready to install.


before yesterday i had some unknowns:-
1. hopefully i have the right wiring diagram (terminals & vcds settings)
2. how to remove trim around & under the steering wheel to get to the fuse & control modules.
3. how to remove ashtray
4. how to route wires for the rear footwells by removing the wall/side carpet.
or
5. how to route wires for the rear footwells by removing the door sill plastic.

i had a practice go yesterday.......

so i managed to workout #1...in theory, and got 2 & 3 sorted. i must say though, the diagnostic connector (above the bonnet lever) was a pain to remove. it needs to removed, otherwise u can't take out the trim below the steering wheel, hindering access to the control modules.

however the routing is not going to b as easy i expected.
routing the wiring for the front footwell will b fine. the front passenger side has a cutout for the footwell light. there is no cutout for the front driver side footwell. i'll need to cut the plastic - shouldn't b a biggie

but routing the wiring to the rear for the rear footwells is going to b tricky. i prefer to gone down the centre console path, and then out to the sides under the front seats. unfortunately i'm yet to find any how to guides.

removing the door sills plastic cover is one option, but on the drivers side, the bonnet lever will cause some headache.

anyone have any recommendations? with instructions and pictures?
i'll c if i can find any info on the briskoda forum.

i don't want to remove the front seats.

the back of the front seats already have precut holes for the rear footwells.

here r some pics of the practice run.....

[dArK5HaD0w]

my million dollar question is "how do i get the wires from the front to the middle via the centre console?" (plan A)
if i remove the ashtray, is that enough? do i have to remove the centre carpet wall/skirts?
does it involve removing the jumbo box?

plan B would involve the side door sill covers.

[Mysticality]

I'd go with Plan-A, and just run the wires up under the carpet.

Be careful with the front centre console carpet, its got a solid velcro-style securing bracket on the vehicle-rear end, but its glued on the vehicle-front end, so you can only bring it forwards and sort of fols it out of the way - not too far, though.

If you want some pics of what I mean, lemme know.

[dArK5HaD0w]

I'd go with Plan-A, and just run the wires up under the carpet.

Be careful with the front centre console carpet, its got a solid velcro-style securing bracket on the vehicle-rear end, but its glued on the vehicle-front end, so you can only bring it forwards and sort of fols it out of the way - not too far, though.

If you want some pics of what I mean, lemme know.

yup, i just found similar instructions to that......
"Btw something that might help you is that its quite easy to remove the panel beside center console. If you remove the ashtray (pull up gear stick gator, remove 2 screws and lift out), and look in theres 2 screws. One is for the left panel and one for the right. If you remove the left then slide the panel towards the front axel by about an inch and you can get the panel off. Theres velcro on the bottom so pop this off prior to sliding. Its also a good place to store Car kit stuff. "

i also found this pdf doc with summary of centre console components.

[dArK5HaD0w]

unfortunately i haven't had much progress as i've been sick all week - still recovering!!

anyone have some tips on how to "pull" out the door sill trims?

pull "up" towards the roof
or
pull "in" towards the centre console?



i've managed to position the passenger side footwell light.
unlike the rear footwells, there r no cutouts for the fronts.
with the front, u have to manually mark it out & cut it out.
next will b the drivers side.



u'll notice in the above pic the original hole i made for it - turns out that position was not ideal as the back of the footwell housing would b against some wires. i didn't want to take any chances with melting the wires, so i had to re-position an inch or so back.

[Mysticality]

Pull the trim horizontally across, towards the centre console.

That light actually looks really good.
How much did the kit cost, and how hard is it to do it all?...
I'm talking how many hours, of course. XD